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Tuesday, September 25, 2012

Yes, lovelies, HALLOWEEN is rearing its horrifying, awesome head, which means it's time to re-imagine those gran guignol faves of mine with the stars of today! Why? Because at the rate moviemaking is going, they're going to remake them anyway, so why not throw in my two cents at the outset?

But what would this be without you telling me what you want? I've already got four of the films in mind; now you're gonna tell me what to finish with. And here's the best part: no matter what you choose, I've never seen it before! I'll be reviewing a new (to me) film and offering a Casting Coup! Hooray!

Monday, September 17, 2012

And one week later, here's the rest of my personal awards for the films of 1975! Last week saw Nashville leading with three wins, followed closely by Monty Python and the Holy Grail and its two victories. Honors also went to Amarcord, Barry Lyndon, Dark Star and Dog Day Afternoon.

Monday, September 10, 2012

Finally, the first part of my Hollmann Awards for 1975! Nine of the eighteen categories are represented here, along with five previous nominees and one previous winner! I tell you, though, I needed those extra days just to finally whittle everything down to these choices. 1975 may not have been the strongest year, but it still hurt to leave some things out (Sorry, ensemble of Switchblade Sisters! Better luck next time, screenplay for Teenage Hitchhikers!). Luckily, though, I managed to find a slate of nominees and winners I really like. Hopefully, you'll feel the same; hopefully, too, you'll disagree and we can have a heated discussion in the comments.

Wednesday, September 5, 2012

For those of you who don't know, every year the British Academy for Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) release a "longlist" of contenders for their awards before nominations are finalized. Each category has been boiled down to fifteen finalists, and it is from that list that members can pick their five nominees. It's actually one of my favorite parts of awards season, allowing us a clue into how the voters are thinking, and I'm sure allowing them to gather their thoughts, as well.

But that's all over. A recent rule change has eliminated the longlists from existence...leaving me to carry the flame.

As stated previously, I have watched a total of 60 films released in 1975. This breaks that down to 15 movies in 16 categories. This year, I'm ignoring the Academy rules of '75 and offering nominees for Makeup and Visual Effects, but since they were easily whittled down to five, you'll just have to wait to see.

Monday, September 3, 2012

When I think of my first go-round at the Retrospectives, I am amused at what I considered "good enough": 47 films. I would never consider such a low number acceptable, but in those early days, I felt I had to accept the fact that not every film released then would be readily available now. If I had pushed more, I could have seen more.

Still, 60 really is good enough (those 13 make a difference!). Usually, I don't see more than 75 new releases a year, anyway, and when one factors in all the things that went wrong -- unavailable films, wonky Internet that interfered with Netflix, migraines, 8-day work-weeks -- 60 is not half-bad. I still got to see the masterpieces, the top-earners, and the cult classics; who cares if I missed out on Olivier's Three Sisters or The Happy Hooker or Emmanuelle? I still managed to get hold of Messiah of Evil, Teenage Hitchhikers and The Story of O!

The complete list of films is below. Tomorrow, I'll start on my famous longlists, followed by the Retro Hollmann Awards of 1975!